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Who will coach the 76ers?
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Dileo returning to the bench? (AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)
The 76ers season ended a few weeks ago and despite the valiant effort for the most part in the first-round series (4-2) loss against the Orlando Magic, there is a lot of up in the air about the future of the franchise.
One issue is that the starting point guard, Andre Miller is a pending free agent. So the decision to resign him or go in a different direction is coming. Another concern is that their big free agent signing this past offseason, Elton Brand, never meshed and prematurely had his season end with an injury.
But at the forefront of the offseason outlook is the head coach position. Nothing has been reported on the front office leanings. However, it seems that Tony DiLeo who excelled on the bench after being a long-time executive likes that seat as the temp tag would have been removed by now if he wanted to go back upstairs.
The saying goes that no news is good news but in this case no news might be the interim before a new coach is ushered in. Who might that be?
Some likely and some interesting choices:
1. Avery Johnson - Former 2006 Coach of the Year while with the Dallas Mavericks who got fired, perhaps undeservedly, after the Mavs postseason pratfalls.
2. Eddie Jordan – Former Washington Wizards coach with Pete Carill coach connections who got the axe when two of his top players (Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood) didn’t suit up all season because of injuries.
3. Jay Wright - Villanova coach riding high after his Final Eight appearance.
4. Doug Collins – TNT lead NBA analyst but also former 76ers great and Michael Jordan’s coach who seemed anxious to go back to the bench last offseason with the Chicago Bulls before backing out of the process.
5. Terry Porter – Former Milwaukee Bucks coach and more recently fired as the Phoenix Suns head coach at the 2009 All-Star break after a subpar start.
6. Jeff Van Gundy - ESPN/ABC lead NBA analyst who also coached the New York Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals and the Houston Rockets for a few seasons.
7. Mark Jackson - Van Gundy’s partner in the booth who eagerly wanted the New York Knicks opening last offseason and looking forward to the next opportunity to lead a team.
8. Sam Mitchell - Former Toronto Raptors coach who also won the Coach of the year award in 2007 but got fired after a poor start in Toronto this season.
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